DunedinDragon

Use this link as your step by step guide for learning how to setup the Stomp: Helix Help Make sure you scroll down to the section that deals specifically with the Stomp/Stomp XL

A good resource for you might be Will Doggett. He's been doing YouTube videos for years on this subject and was really the person I spent a lot of time following when I began doing this stuff. Here's a link to a lot of his stuff: Will Doggett Link A specific link from Will Doggett for doing click tracks.

I use the same components as you do (Helix and Ableton) in pretty much the same situation but not nearly as complex or convoluted and have been doing it now for 4 years. My approach is pretty straightforward. In my case we have myself and two female vocalists. I play guitar as well as sing so I use my Helix for what it's designed to do primarily which is configure the sound of the guitar through presets and snapshots for each song and the changes that need to happen during the course of the song. This is all coordinated by a MIDI control track in Ableton which signals those changes through a Morningstar MC8 MIDI foot controller. I have no additional gear beyond the mixing board which combines the backing track, the Helix output and the vocals for the performance. There's really no need for a click track because the drum track coming from Ableton is more than sufficient just using count-ins as you would with a real drummer. The real star of the show is my Native Instruments library of virtual instruments which I use to construct the backing tracks in my studio and run them on a laptop during the performance which is all controlled and organized through my Morningstar MC8 controller where I select the song and start it. Everything else happens automatically without any interaction from me so I can just concentrate on the performance. This is basically modeled after the way Disney does it's live shows in their theme parks and on their cruise ships. In my case I construct all the instrument tracks in my studio using Native Instruments various libraries for things like drums, bass, keys, additional guitars, banjo, mandolin, string sections, horn sections, etc. These are all high quality instruments built from samples of the actual instruments so they're indistinguishable from having actual performers playing them on stage. But I can design them to sound the way I want them to sound and play what I want them to play. In addition to the instrument tracks I have one MIDI Out track in Ableton that signals the Morningstar MC8 when something needs to be changed during the course of the performance and signals itself to stop when the end of the song. Once I've built these tracks in Ableton's arrangement view, I convert all the musical output from my MIDI tracks to audio tracks which are then loaded into my laptop and run live in Ableton's session view and sent to the mixing board. So in essence those virtual musicians are handled in exactly the same way as if they were live performers. Here's an example of one of the backing tracks for the song "The Truth" by Megan Woods which we just started doing a couple of weeks ago. The Truth

My general approach to using my Morningstar MC8 for controlling presets, snapshots and stomp is to reserve two of the top buttons (G and H) for scrolling through different presets by sending the specific PC and CC for the preset that's displayed when you display it on your Helix at the lower left side of the screen. From the Morningstar perspective that's two MIDI transactions (PC + CC). Typically I just use the CC msgs to simulate the pressing of a footswitch which are CC 40-58 (FS 1-11). That works for snapshots or footswitches or you can use the specific snapshot CC# of 69 with a value of 0 - 7. There are a couple of tricks you can use with the Morningstar such as defining the button as a toggle for footswitches defined as only on while holding them. I sometimes send two footswitch commands on one MC8 button to toggle between two different effects (one on, one off simultaneously). There's enough control in the MC controllers that I really don't press any foot controls on my Helix other than to tune or to use the volume pedal. In my case I automate all of my controls to the Helix synchronized with the playback of my backing tracks in Ableton which I control via the rest of the buttons on my MC8. I actually select the Ableton track using the G and H top buttons and that coordinates the track with the appropriate Helix preset. I then press the Start button (Morningstar A) which starts the tracks playing and a MIDI out track notifies the MC8 to what button to trigger at the appropriate time to make changes to the Helix. I can still execute those changes manually on the MC8, but I usually just leave it up to the MIDI control track in Ableton.

The best thing about AI at this point is by simply using those two letters in your marketing campaign you can potentially boost sales regardless of any difference it will make in the product's actual capabilities. There is clearly vast potential in AI all of which has to be run on massive, very expensive computers that won't fit in your house much less in a modeling box. It's also highly suspect when any company touts AI without qualifying what type of AI because they're all different. The only type that really would make sense in the modeling world would be Generative AI which relies on the computer being taught how to use different components correctly within a signal chain to resolve to a specified sample sound. Of course the accuracy of the sample sound would be suspect without knowing what kind of guitar setup was used to produce it. And the sample itself could vary wildly depending on the settings of the guitar. All of which can only happen by submitting each sample to a remote AI computer to be able to run it's program and determine the outcome. My best guess what Spark may be referring to would be to use AI to design the individual modeled components from the real world you can use in your modeler. But just imagine the level of bragging rights you'd have if you can tell people your modeler created the sound through AI even if it wasn't done that way. Isn't marketing a great invention???!!!

Because that's just the standard that tends to work well for me in the digital realm of the Helix signal chain without causing any problems and remaining consistent. The analog output level coming out of the Helix will be controlled at the mixing board and that will be whatever works best. Of course that's a very old post and I no longer go direct to a stage monitor. I just send my normalized analog output from the Helix to the mixing board and the levels are gain staged then directed to the appropriate aux mix for my stage monitor and for the front of house.

Quite honestly that makes me suspicious of the skills of this sound guy, unless he's doing a submix from the main auxes into separate wireless IEM transmitters. Hopefully he got you guys setup correctly. But this would only be for his convenience in sending a stereo signal. Quite frankly I personally don't think he needs to encumber you with something he needs to complete his duties. If anyone should have some spare Aux out XLR cable splitters in his bag it should be him, not you. From your perspective it should all just be transparent and you do what you have always done and he can deal with getting the sound out appropriately.

I don't see any possible advantage to sending two signals rather than one in your case. It only complicates the live mix at the soundboard for no practical purpose. No one in the audience is going to know or care whether you use 1 or 2 channels.

First, your two audio samples are both the same file which is the AC15, but it's pretty much what I would expect from an AC15 with the settings you have on that amp. To my ear It's not terrible and there is some clarity to the tones until you dig in hard or play bigger chords, but it's a bit muffled to my taste lacking some high end (sparkle) but that may be due more to using an SM57 rather than a condenser or ribbon mic which is what I tend to use. Looking at your amp settings you have a decent drive level but the Master level is pretty high which forces amp stage distortion. I personally rarely mess with the Master Vol parameter once I get the effect I want with the Drive. I just adjust the Ch Vol to get the signal level (volume) I want without affecting the tone as the Master Vol does. For what it's worth I'm listening to the samples on my Yamaha HS7 studio monitors.

The Helix is a lot of things but it's not a replacement for a mixing board. Especially when you have two singers on separate mics that need to be gain staged and mixed individually along with a guitar.

Well, feel by definition is an emotional response. I "feel" I get everything I need just from the Helix alone.

No. That just turns down the signal level going out. It doesn't bypass it.

I rarely use my Helix Floor footswitches as I can get everything I need from my Morningstar MC8. I've had this unit since 2015 and I can't say it's been as problematic as yours but some buttons always needed some attention to keep functioning well, and it's just as easy and more reliable to do everything over MIDI.

I think your analysis overlooks some very obvious things though. There's a fairly significant difference in the capabilities of the individual blocks on the XL. That's because, unlike the PodGo, the Stomp employs the same Helix modeling engine used on it's largest units (though limited in number) which is considerably more powerful processing wise than the PodGo. That may be worth some of your attention to determine all the things you can do with the Stomp which is considerably broader and more capable than what you have now. The added benefit is that your presets can convert directly over to any Helix unit whereas your PodGo presets will have to be rebuilt. I would think that would be a pretty important consideration should you decide ultimately you want to have more flexibility and capability in what your unit can do.

Those amps may be affecting the tone because you are going through their tone stack. Try using a pair of headphones and see how much the amp is flavoring your tone.

One other quick note, a lot of the sound is going to depend on the kind of speaker you play through and that sometimes make it a challenge to get the tone you want. What are you using to listen through as you dial in your tones?

That's an awesome guitar you have there. I'd be another vote for the Clarity if you're looking to get the sweetest cleans for jazz. Another one that might serve your needs that I use a lot is the Elmsley to get a little more punch. Here's the designer's description: "The Line 6 Elmsley is a new Line 6 original amplifier that employs a parallel distortion topology that layers distinct saturation characteristics across the lower and upper registers. The Elmsley features a smooth and present bottom end with some exceptional sparkle and definition all through the midrange and above. The result is an amplifier that is dazzling across the full spectrum, and the amplifier deals with pedals in spades. "The other new key feature of The Elmsley's power amp section is the Negative Feedback (NFB) parameter, where the amount of feedback within the power section's response can be dialed anywhere from wild and unhinged, tight and punchy, and anything in between. As with many amplifier designs, the presence and depth controls are part of this negative feedback circuit and functions to control the brilliance and resonance of the power amp, respectively. As the NFB param is reduced, the presence and depth controls' influences are also influenced, and they become effectively deactivated when the NFB knob is at zero. These interactions allow the player to create countless tonal variations to suit their needs.”

I've been playing a Gretsch Silver Falcon for years through my Helix and I've never had a problem getting a great sound out of it unless I try and force it to be what it's not. It has it's own unique sound. Embrace that sound and enhance it and you'll do just fine. Try to force it to sound like a Strat and you're going to struggle. The best thing you can do is get to know the guitar. Plug it into the Helix with a blank preset and listen to it's natural tone as you change pickup selection, volume and tone knobs and different strumming or picking patterns. That's the natural sound of the guitar so just build off of that. It's also important to know what genres of music it excels at. It can be a decent rock guitar that sits somewhere in the middle between a Les Paul and a Strat. It's great at country that's built around a more mellow guitar sound. It can give modern and pop music a more full bodied feel than solid body guitars and will have a very natural warmth to the sound. In my experience it needs very little EQ correction once you get the right amp model and cabinet model setup for it.

I think the first thing you need to address is separating what affects your tone and what affects your volume. From my perspective I concentrate on adjusting the Helix to get the proper tone I want at the most efficient output level. That means my Helix master volume is always dimed to achieve the most efficient output level and the adjustments within the presets are adjusted to maintain the desired tone at a consistent signal level that will be desirable on whatever comes after the Helix. I do that mostly through adjustments on the amp model which includes the amp model's master volume because it does affect the tone whereas the amp's channel volume does not. However I find it much more efficient to adjust the output level of the signal chain to achieve a signal level near unity level as seen from a mixing board with my Helix output set to Mic level (going into the mixing board). Because I do that on all my Helix presets I know there will be no significant change in volume between presets as they pass on to the mixing board which means less work having to gain stage each preset. You could follow that basic approach in your situation simply adjusting your Helix output from being Mic level to Line level which I would assume is what your rig expects as input. That would allow you to adjust your rig's volume settings independently depending on what's needed at any gig so that volume level will be consistent across all presets.

I'm not sure about the studio subs as I don't use them, but most live subs these days allow you to adjust the cutoff frequency to accommodate what's best for your mains. Or in some cases the mains allow you to limit the frequencies coming from the sub to match their preferred ranges.

Depending on what type of sub he was using it may not be a simple forward facing speaker like an amp. Usually there some form of baffle or venting that allows the low frequencies to do what they do best and permeate in a 180 degree fashion as well as helping accentuate the lowest frequencies, so just boosting the low frequencies through a simple speaker might not have the same effect he was getting with his other subs. But who knows, it may be enough if it's just guitar anyway.

It's not going to have the same low frequency cutoff as a sub. It will just reproduce the entire signal it receives so who knows if it will work for you outside of trying it. Generally speaking guitars have very little representation at the the frequencies isolated to a subwoofer. That's mostly for frequencies below 125 hz which is the low bass strings and kick drums, toms, etc.

I would say I've converted most of my active presets to newer amp models. There are a few exceptions on amps that are very useful and unique such as the Jazz Rivet and the WhoWatt, but most of them are in the new camp and a lot are the new Line 6 creations. In all cases all of my presets have been converted to the new cabinet models.

I don't see any problems with what you want to do other than making sure you have a capable MIDI controller as MIDI controllers aren't always equal. Just do your homework and good luck.

From your description it sounds like you're going into a mixing board? I'm basing that on your description : "L/R out via Line signal to my interface. Interface is set to line, gain is at zero on the interface. I have to volume knob turned all the way up on the HX." Normal inputs into a mixing board expect Mic signal levels which are WAY lower than Line level. The fact you have the gain set at zero, which I'm assuming means the 12 o'clock position, really means nothing. What matters is the signal level as shown by the mixing board signal lights on that channel, not the position of the knob. If this is the case it doesn't surprise me at all with the Helix main output maxed out that you'd be getting clipping on that channel. The first thing I'd do if this is all true would be to change the Helix output level to Mic rather than Line and see if that helps.